Training program teaches volunteers how to rescue animals during Big Island disasters

A new program will train volunteers on Hawaiʻi Island about how to rescue animals during all types of disasters, including volcano lava flows, tsunamis, wildfires, floods, hurricanes and earthquakes.

The Hawaiʻi Animal Kuleana Alliance has begun planning the intensive training program, with partial funding from Hawaiʻi County’s Kīlauea Recovery Grant Program.

“This has been in the works for a long time, [and] finally being able to make it happen is very exciting,” said the alliance’s co-founder and executive director Syndi Halualani Texeira.

She said the training for 20 volunteers will be all-encompassing, including every type of natural disaster that can be experienced on the island. It will begin in the spring with a 40-hour course, with those who complete it earning a certificate.

Next, instructors from Colorado will provide field training. They will cover basic rescue skills, first aid for animals, how to approach rescue for different types of disasters, and how to respond to everyday emergencies, which could involve retrieving animals that have fallen in a fissure or lava tube.

“This takes someone who loves animals, and also their community and is wanting to make a difference for animals and families experiencing a crisis,” Texeira added. “It takes a deep dedication and passion to devote your time to something like this.”

While priority is being given to prior volunteers, the alliance is recruiting for a couple of spots.

“We ask for a 2-year commitment for volunteers due to the time and dedication they are giving and the amount of resources going into this,” said the alliance’s co-founder and communications coordinator Laurie Lyons-Makaimoku.

The training and specialized equipment will give more rescuers the ability to respond to calls when animals are lost or trapped somewhere. They also will learn how to help evacuate animals and tend to injuries during disasters.

“For example, there is a specific swift water training for flood events that will help keep volunteers and the animals safer,” Texeira said.

Whether they are responding to a disaster or just trying to help an animal on any given day, all rescue volunteers must be able to approach animals calmly and confidently, observe inconsistencies in animals and recognize sickness or injury. They also must learn to communicate effectively with family members who may be missing a pet.

The Hawaiʻi Animal Kuleana Alliance was originally named the Hawaiʻi Lava Flow Animal Rescue Network when it began during the 2018 Kīlauea lava flow. The grassroots group started as an informational hub for those needing assistance with recovering pets and livestock during the disaster. 

While responding to the lava flow, the alliance helped the Hawaiʻi Island Humane Society and other organizations find and rescue an estimated 1,100 animals. 

In 2023, the Hawaiʻi County mayorʻs office asked if volunteers could be ready to rescue animals when the wildfires started on the Big Island. When those were contained, the alliance contacted the Maui Humane Society after the fire in Lahaina that resulted in helping to find an estimated 3,000 missing animals.

“We learned a lot from Maui, but one of the main things I took away is that no amount of preparation can prepare someone with what you see and experience during the aftermath from such a disaster,” Texeira said. “It was not just about helping the surviving animals. We were helping individual pet owners and small organizations that had no one there to assist them.”

Lyons-Makaimoku said the organization also learned how important preparation is because it was one of the first organizations in the field that had all the safety equipment ready to go.

“Everyone would have been exposed if we didn’t have respirators,” she said. “This is especially important if you think about where we live and issues with the supply chain.”

While the training has been partially funded, the Hawaiʻi Animal Kuleana Alliance is currently fundraising to purchase specialized equipment that will be used during the training and afterward.

Along with rescue and recovery, the Hawaiʻi Animal Kuleana Alliance has been assisting the County of Hawaiʻi Animal Control and Protection Agency with its free microchipping events taking place across the island once a month. 

Microchip identification is required by law in Hawaiʻi and can drastically reduce response times for animals who are lost and found by an individual or organization. 

“When a pet has a microchip and all the information is up to date, it makes a world of difference for rescue organizations working to reunite pets and families as quickly as possible,” Texeira said. “They help keep every pet safer during a disaster, or even if they just escape the home.”

“During one of the events, a woman told me that her dog has never left her home, but she wanted to get a microchip in case there is a next lava flow or disaster that separates them,” Lyons-Makaimoku said. “It made me happy, because this is exactly why we do this.”

The free and low cost microchipping events also include microchip registration by the Hawaiʻi Animal Kuleana Alliance, spay and neuter sign up with PetFix Spay and Neuter, vaccinations by the County of Hawaiʻi, Petco Love and Aloha Animal Oasis, adoption information and resources from the Hawaiʻi Island Humane Society and Action 4 Animals and licensing services from the County. 

The next event will be at the Ocean View Community Center on Jan. 25 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

For more information on the spring animal search and rescue training and other services, email infor@haka.org or text 808-747-3373.